Ballmer talks cybersecurity at safety symposium

Turns out, I didn’t miss much. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer keynoted the event, but from what I’ve read, he didn’t say much of anything new. In fact, he glaringly omitted something new: a chance to comment again on the China cyberattacks Google publicized earlier this month.

The biggest topic of the morning was cloud computing, and information-sharing by law enforcement agencies. Microsoft announced plans for a cloud-based version of its Child Exploitation Tracking System, which traces its roots to a message that a Toronto Police Service detective sent to Bill Gates, asking for Microsoft’s help coordinating information among agencies.

In response to an audience question, Ballmer noted that “private clouds” are likely to be in high demand from local governments and law enforcements in cases where politics increase the importance of having information contained within specific geography.

And the rest of Ballmer’s speech? Blah-ba-dee blah-ba-dee blah. We know, cybersecurity is an issue and Microsoft is committed to helping thwart it.

The coolest thing I’ve seen was a timeline showing Microsoft’s technical response to the Haiti earthquake. Here’s a photo, courtesy of The Seattle Times’ Sharon Pian Chan.